Simulated vehicle toy



July 30, 1963 E. l. KOCH 3,099,443

SIMULATED VEHICLE TOY Filed March 13, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ill INVENTOR, mwze01. X009 y 1963 E. l. KOCH 3,099,443

SIMULATED VEHICLE TOY Filed March 15, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. [AW/960 1. ,m0/

States Unite fire 3,099,443 SIMULATED VEHLCLE TOY Edward I. Koch, New York, N.Y. Filed Mar. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 95,196 3 Claims. (Cl. 272-1) This invention relates to chlidrens play things in general and more particularly to a simulated vehicle toy which is inexpensive to construct in that the most costly element thereof is free.

Young children in the process of growing up pass through a stage where they experience a strong urge to be in control of vehicles such as automobiles, boats, tractors, fire engines and space ships. As a practical matter this is not possible, so as a substitute toys are made to simulate these vehicles.

The chief requisites of these toys are that they give the appearance of the full size vehicle and be large enough for the childs body to enter therein. Because of this, toys of this type have traditionally been priced at approximately $10.00 and upward per unit with the price often exceeding $100.00 per unit.

It is well known that a child of tender years is not mpressed by the degree to which the details of an authentic article are simulated but is more impressed by the overall appearance and a construction which enables the child to utilize the toy with reckless abandon. That is, without being restrained by the parent.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a simulated vehicle toy which is inexpensive to construct and will afford many hours of pleasure to a child of tender years.

This is accomplished by utilizing a carton of corrugated paper board commonly utilized as a packing case for grocery products. The carton chosen is of a size, say 12" x x 18", to enable the childs body to enter through the top of the carton and permit the child to sit therein with his head projecting above the top of the carton.

Sheet material carrying appropriate indicia are cemented to the front, rear and side panels of the carton on the outer surfaces thereof. The sheets contain appropriate indicia resembling portions of the vehicle which is being simulated. That is, in the case of an automobile, the sheet cemented to the front panel includes an automobile grille and headlights. The sheet cemented to the rear panel includes a trunk lid, tail lights and a bumper, while the sheets cemented to the side panels include wheels and fenders. With these four sheets cemented in place on the outer surfaces of the carton panels, the carton takes on the appearance of the vehicle in question.

In addition, another sheet is provided having illustrations of instruments and controls. The last sheet is cemented to a portion of the carton disposed internally thereof. This portion comprises the inside surface of the front panel or the outwardly facing surface of the flap which is joined to the front panel along the top edge thereof.

When the carton is being prepared for use as a simulated vehicle toy the top flaps thereof may be removed, or if strengthening of the structure is required, the flaps may be turned inwardly. In the latter arrangement the front flap may be obliquely positioned by utilizing the friction fit between the side flaps and the side edges of the front flap, the former being folded inwardly before the inward folding of the front flap.

The sheet material is preferably provided with a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive which facilitates the securement of the sheet material to the panels of the carton.

The simulated vehicle toy hereinbefore described is so inexpensive that the parent will not be concerned about destruction thereof. In addition, the toy, being constructed of relatively yieldable material, is not likely to damage household furniture nor is the toy likely to injure the child or his playmates.

Further, the construction is so simple that even a parent having no mechanical leanings whatsoever can readily assemble the toy. While the parent may not receive the direct satisfaction of achievement since assembly is so simple, there will be considerable satisfaction resulting from the childs statement to the effect see what Daddy built for me.

Therefore, another object of this invention is to provide a simulated vehicle toy which does not require any skill to assemble.

Still another object is to provide a simulated vehicle toy which is safe for the child to play with in that he will not injure himself or injure the property of others.

A further object is to provide a simulated vehicle toy which is constructed primarily of a corrugated paper board packing case which would otherwise be destroyed.

These as well as other objects of this invention shall become readily apparent after reading the following description of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a simulated vehicle toy constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention to resemble an automobile.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the toy of FIGURE 1 looking in the direction of arrows 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of the toy of FIGURE 1 looking in the direction of arrows 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective of the sheet material and its backing sheet prior to the application of the former.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective of a simulated vehicle toy constructed to resemble a steam locomotive.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation of the embodiment of FIGURE 5 looking in the direction of arrows 66 of FIGURES.

FIGURE 7 is a front elevation of the embodiment of FIGURE 5 looking in the direction of arrows 7-7 of FIGURE 5.

Now referring to the figures and more particularly to FIGURES l-4. Simulated vehicle toy 10 comprises corrugated paper board carton 11 having front panel 12, rear panel 13 and side panels 14, 15 arranged to define a rectangular enclosure. Flaps 1619 are joined to panels 12-15, respectively, along the top edges thereof. Side flaps 18, 19 are first inwardly folded to lie in planes parallel to the planes of side panels 14, 15. Thereafter, rear flap 17 is inwardly folded to lie substantially parallel to rear panel 13 and front flap 16 is inwardly folded to be obliquely positioned for a reason to be hereinafter described. That is, there is an acute angle A between front flap 16 and front panel 12 rather than having flap 16 forced against front panel 12. The operative position of front flap 16 is maintained through the frictional engagement by side flaps 18, 19 with the side edges 22, 23, respectively, of front flap 16.

Flaps similar to flaps 16-19 are provided along the bottom edges of panels 12-15 to act as a closure means for the bottom of carton 11.

Each of the side panels on the outer surfaces thereof carry two sheets 24, 25 each having indicia resembling side portions of an automobile, in this case wheels 26, 26 and fenders 27, 27. Front panel 12, on the outer surface thereof, carries sheet 28 having indicia thereon resembling front portions of an automobile. This indicia includes grille 29, headlights 30 and bumper 31. Similarly, rear panel 13 carries on the outer surface thereof sheet 32. having indicia resembling rear portions of an automobile. These portions include rear bumper 33, trunk lid 34, license plate 35 and tail lights 36.

The outer surface of front flap 16 carries sheet 38. Sheet 38 includes indicia resembling the control panel or dashboard of an automobile including speedometer 39 and gauges 4t 41, as well as radio 42 and steering wheel 43. The oblique position of flap 16 makes the indicia on sheet 38 appear at a more convenient location.

Sheets 24, 25, 28, 32 and 38 are each cemented to the appropriate panels of carton 11. As seen in FIGURE 4, sheet 24 prior to securement thereof to the appropriate side panel of carton 11 has the adhesive coating 46 thereof protected by a sheet of backing material 47. In a manner well known to the art the relative characteristics of sheets 24, 47 and adhesive layer 46 are such that sheet 24 adheres more firmly to adhesive layer 46 than does backing 47. Similar adhesive and backing layers 46, 47 are provided for sheets 2 28, 32 and 38 prior to securement thereof to carton 11.

Toy 10 is readily assembled by starting with an appropriate sized carton 11 obtained Without cost from a grocery store. A kit is provided comprising sheets 24, 25, 28, 32 and "38 with adhesive 46 and backing 47 layers. The backing layers are stripped from the sheets which are thereafter applied to the appropriate panels and flap.

Now referring more particularly to FIGURES -7 which illustrate another embodiment of this invention. This embodiment provides a simulated vehicle toy 50 resembling a railroad train including a steam locomotive. Toy 50 comprises carton 51 having front 52, rear 53 and side 54, 55 panels arranged to define a rectangular enclosure. As distinguished from the embodiment of FIGURES 13 carton 51 has had the top flaps thereof removed.

Sheet 57, cemented to the outer surface of side panel 54, includes a plurality of wheels 5860 joined by connecting rods 61. A mirror image of these elements appears on sheet 62 which is cemented to the outer surface of the other side panel 55. Sheet 67, cemented to the outer surface of rear panel 53, includes indicia resembling rear platform 68 of a train, warning lights 69 and ladder 70. Sheet 71, cemented to front panel 52, in- 'cludes illustrations resembling boiler 72, headlight 73 and cowcatcher 74 typical of a steam locomotive. Sheet 75, cemented to the inner surface of front panel 52, includes indicators 7 678, coupling controls 7 9 and operating controls 80.

Thus, it is seen that this invention provides a simplified, inexpensive and novel construction for a simulated vehicle toy. The construction is such that the 'child will obtain many hours of pleasure without being in danger of injuring himself or the property of others and the child having seen this toy being constructed by the parent will develop a greater degree of admiration for the parent. It is notedthat the latter is not truly deserving since the construction of the simulated vehicle toy is so simple that no special aptitude or skill is required for assembly.

Although I have here described preferred embodiments of my novel invention many variations and modifications will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, and I therefore prefer to be limited, not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending claims.

I claim:

1. A simulated vehicle toy comprising an open top rectangular carton of a size large enough for a childs body to enter, said carton including a front, rear, first side and second side panels; a first sheet means carrying indicia resembling front portions of a real vehicle, a second sheet means carrying indicia resembling rear portions of the same vehicle, a third sheet means carrying indicia resembling side portions of the same vehicle, and a fourth sheet means also carrying indicia resembling side portions of the same vehicle; cement means sec-uring said first, said second, said third, and said fourth sheet means to said front, said rear, said first side, and said second side panels, respectively, on the outer surfaces thereof whereby said carton appears as a vehicle; a front flap at the upper edge of said front panel disposed within said carton and positioned at an acute angle with respect to said front panel; a fifth sheet means carrying indicia resembling a control panel of the same vehicle; cement means securing said fifth sheet to the external surface of said flap.

2. The simulated vehicle toy of claim 1 in which there are side flaps. at the upper edges of each of said side panels; said side flaps being positioned inside said carton in engagement with the side edges of said front flap; said front flap being maintained in operative position by friction through the force fit between the front flap and the side flaps.

3. The simulated vehicle toy of claim 2 in which the carton is comprised of corrugated paper board.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 546,767 Knobeloch Sept. 24, 1895 979,812 Warren Dec. 27, 1910 2,079,550 De Mott May 4, 1937 2,246,984 Palmer June 24, 1941 2,679,395 Green May 25, 1954 3,042,399 Lewendowski July 3, 1962 

1. A SIMULATED VEHICLE TOY COMPRISING AN OPEN TOP RECTANGULAR CARTON OF A SIZE LARGE ENOUGH FOR A CHILD''S BODY TO ENTER, SAID CARTON INCLUDING A FRONT, REAR, FIRST SIDE AND SECOND SIDE PANELS; A FIRST SHEET MEANS CARRYING INDICIA RESEMBLING FRONT PORTIONS OF A REAL VEHICLE, A SECOND SHEET MEANS CARRYING INDICIA RESEMBLING REAR PORTIONS OF THE SAME VEHICLE, A THIRD SHEET MEANS CARRYING INDICIA RESEMBLING SIDE PORTIONS OF THE SAME VEHICLE, AND A FOURTH SHEET MEANS ALSO CARRYING INDICIA RESEMBLING SIDE PORTIONS OF THE SAME VEHICLE; CEMENT MEANS SECURING SAID FIRST, SAID SECOND, SAID THIRD, AND SAID FOURTH SHEET MEANS TO SAID FRONT, SAID REAR, SAID FIRST SIDE, AND 